Meet Jasmine

Jasmine is a darling 5-year old who has been through a tremendous amount during her life. When Jasmine was born she was not breathing. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Doctors resuscitated Jasmine and she appeared to be over the trauma. When Jasmine turned 6 months old, she started to have seizures. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects body movement usually related to a brain injury or problems with brain development. It is one of the most common causes of lasting disability in children.

At 3-years old, Jasmine kidneys stopped working. Since then, Jasmine has received dialysis treatments three times weekly. She has been on the kidney transplant waitlist for the past 850 days. She periodically has macrocytic anemia (enlarged red blood cells) and thrombocytopenia (decrease levels of platelets) requiring blood transfusions. Jasmine also receives physical therapy twice weekly. Jasmine and her mother are seen at Lucile Packard Hospital every day of the week.

Jasmine lives in a very small two-bedroom apartment with her mother and 3 siblings. Her mother used to work as an auditor at a local hotel. Jasmine’s mother quit her job and receives In-House Assistance Funds since she is Jasmine’s full-time caretaker. However, these funds are not enough funds to cover all the expenses in the household. For the past year, Jasmine’s siblings have not been to a movie, out to eat (even fast food) or enjoyed any activity that costs extra money. These items are just NOT in the budget. They struggle each month to keep up but her mother always finds ways to make ends meet.